THE SINKING FUND
The authorship of the first sinking fund in Great Britain has been usually ascribed to Walpole.1 Walpole described himself as the father of the fund, thereby implying that the plan had originated with him, although it had been left to Stanhope to put it into execution. Nevertheless, while Walpole undoubtedly prepared the way for the introduction of the measure, the scheme probably owed its actual form to Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England.2 Paterson examined the problem at the request of Walpole and produced a book 3 “with calculations … by which he made it appear that in almost twenty-two years the nation might be effectually clear of debt.”4
The whole question of the sinking fund turned primarily on the ...
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